How Screensavers Work

The SETI@Home screensaver is a popular screensaver that actually does something useful.

For most people, a screensaver pops up whenever you leave your computer unattended for more than a couple of minutes. It may simply be a blank screen, a specialized program such as SETI@Home, or it could be something as outrageous as dancing macaroni.

But what is a screensaver exactly? What purpose does it serve? How does it know when to start? In this article, we will look behind the screen and check out just what's going on.

With unlimited file sharing comes the big question: Should users be granted unrestricted -- and free -- access to copyrighted movies, music and games? Find out how Kazaa has weathered the legal storm so far.